PREMIER Inn and Costa Coffee owner Whitbread is expected to post more rising sales when it updates the City on first-quarter trading tomorrow.

It comes weeks after announcing the appointment of a top banking executive as its next boss.

Alison Brittain, head of retail at Lloyds, will take over from current chief executive Andy Harrison, who is due to retire by February.

Harrison has overseen an expansion of the business, helping profits for the year to February 26 rise to £488.1million, while Brittain will become one of just a handful of female FTSE100 bosses.

But City reaction to her appointment has not been universally positive. Retail expert Nick Bubb described her as a “rank outsider for the role”, and shares fell 1 per cent following the announcement last month.

Numis analyst Wyn Ellis said Whitbread’s first-quarter figures would be up against touch comparatives from last year, when Premier Inn saw like-for-like sales rise 9.5 per cent and Costa posted an increase of 4.5 per cent.

But he still expected a “solid” update for the quarter, with the group showing “positive strategic progress”.

Brokers at Morgan Stanley have pencilled in overall likefor-like sales growth of 5.5 per cent, with Premier Inn expected to be up 8 per cent and Costa by 5 per cent – all a little slower than the pace of annual growth for 2014/15.